am/is/are watching The simple aspect is used for events which are immediate facts (or strong predictions in the future), complete or unchanging.

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1 STUDENT VERBS FLINDERS UNIVERSITY (The following information on tense and aspect is mostly taken from Celce-Murcia, M & Larsen-Freeman, D 1999, The grammar book, 2 nd edn, Heinle & Heinle, USA.) What are traditionally called the 12 tenses are in fact 12 combinations of tense (relating to time) and aspect (how the verb is experienced, i.e. as a completed action or as still in progress). It is important to understand why we would choose a particular tense or aspect in a particular situation. For example, how can He will arrive at 9pm tomorrow and He will be arriving at 9pm tomorrow both be correct? The answer is that we must consider the aspect. In this case, the first sentence focuses strongly on the event and time, while the second sentence is less definite. Consider the following chart: Aspect Time Simple Perfect Progressive/ Continuous Ø have + past be + -ing participle Present watch/ have/has am/is/are watches watched watching Past watched had watched was/were watching Future will watch will have will be watching watched Perfect Progressive/ Continuous have + been + -ing have/has been watching had been watching will have been watching The simple aspect is used for events which are immediate facts (or strong predictions in the future), complete or unchanging. e.g. I live in Adelaide. I get the bus to work every day. I have a meeting next Wednesday. (It is already planned.) I attended a meeting last week. I will take the exam next year. The perfect aspect is used to show the prior nature of an event in relation to some other point in time. e.g. I have written my essay. (Present reference) He had left before I arrived. (Past reference) He will have left before we get there. (Future reference) By the end of next month, she will have been living here for two years. (Future reference) 1

2 The progressive aspect is used for an event which temporary or changing. e.g. They are living in Adelaide. (Temporary situation) She is becoming more and more deaf. (Changing situation) He was coughing all night. (Temporary situation) He will be doing an examination this time tomorrow. (Temporary situation) EXPRESSIONS Some expressions can help us decide which aspect to use. simple last year perfect just progressive now next year already at the moment every day yet since STATIVE VERBS Some verbs are not usually used in a progressive form. We do not say, for instance, I am hating coffee or It is measuring five kilometres. These stative verbs indicate stability (eg I hate coffee and I will not change my mind ). Other verbs change their meanings if they are used progressively. Compare, for example, I think it s going to rain (=it is my opinion) and I am thinking about changing jobs (=I am considering). Stative verbs usually relate to: Emotion dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish Surprise astonish, surprise Comprehension believe, doubt, feel (=have an opinion), imagine (=suppose), know, mean, recognize, remember, suppose, think (=have an opinion), understand Perception hear, measure, see, smell (=have a smell), sound, taste, weigh Relationship belong to, concern, consist of, contain, depend on, deserve, fit, include, involve, lack, matter, need, owe, own, possess Appearance appear (=seem), resemble, seem (list taken from Swan, M 1980, Practical English usage, OUP, Oxford, pp ) SOME CONTRASTS 1. Simple present or present progressive? a) I am wearing my sunglasses because the sun is bright. (temporary) b) I wear glasses. (habitual) a) What are you doing next week? (specific; plan) b) What do you do every day? (general) a) I am thinking about the answer. (active) b) I think the answer is wrong. (stative)

3 2. Present perfect or present perfect progressive? a) I have been visiting my grandmother. (length of time close to present; informal) b) I have visited my grandmother. (finished action) a) I have been teaching for twenty years. (continuity into future implied and length of action stressed) b) I have taught for twenty years. (continuity into future possible) a) She has been writing a book. (incomplete) b) She has written a book. (complete) 3. Simple past or present perfect? a) My father lived here all his life. (complete father has died) b) My father has lived here all his life. (incomplete he still lives here) a) Have you ever visited Paris? (incomplete) b) Did you visit Paris on your European (complete) trip? 4. Simple past or past progressive? a) He was drowning, but the lifeguard rescued (incomplete) him. b) He drowned in the lake. (complete) a) He left when I came in. (complete) b) He was leaving when I came in. (incomplete/interrupted he may have changed his mind and stayed) a) They lived in Adelaide all their lives. (complete) b) They were living in Adelaide at that time. (temporary) 5. Simple past or past perfect? a) The cake burned because I forgot about it. (past complete) By the time I remembered the cake, it had (past before another event in the b) burned. past) 6. Simple future or other form? a) Belinda will be 40 next year. (strong statement or fact) b) Belinda s going to be 40 next year. (less formal) a) They will get married next year. (strong statement or fact) b) They are going to get married next year. (future plan already made) a) It will rain today. (strong statement) b) It s going to rain today. (prediction based on evidence) a) She will arrive today. (strong statement) b) She arrives today. (formal, impersonal, used in timetables) c) She is arriving today (planned event; arrangements already made) d) She is going to arrive today (planned event; focuses on intention) 3

4 7. Simple future or future progressive? a) He will arrive at 8pm. (strong statement) b) He will be arriving at 8pm (less definite; informal) a) We will offer that class next semester. (definite) b) We will be offering that class next semester. (less definite; informal) 8. Simple future or future perfect? a) She will move house when she finishes her studies. b) She will have moved house by the time she finishes. (after finishing) (before finishing) USE OF TENSES IN ACADEMIC WRITING GENERAL RULES Present tense Used to explain or discuss current knowledge Continuing objectives This study s aim is... General principles/laws Ohm s law states... Data/findings/overview of theory These results show... Opinion or statement from academic source Habitual or general state or action Brown claims/voices the general concern that... These factors characterise the two viewpoints. Past simple tense Used to state or describe what previous researchers did or thought Past objectives and procedures The main purpose was... The sample was... The study showed that... What happened Views held in the past Previous studies concentrated on teachers rather than students. It was thought for many years that... STUDY SKILLS BROCHURE

5 Present perfect tense Used to show the current relevance of research Research conducted in the recent past and still important now Views held in the past and still held Recent studies have indicated that this is no longer the case. This has been a key issue for many years. Adapted from: Winckel, A & Hart, B 2002, Report writing style guide for engineering students, 4 th edn, University of South Australia, p. 34; Swales, JM & Feak, CB 1994, Academic writing for graduate students, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Research, Edith Cowan University 2001, Writing a literature review, viewed 15 August 2006, < CONSIDER THE USE OF TENSES IN THE INTRODUCTION TO THIS ESSAY QUESTION: Essay question: For education to be fair, it must be the same for everyone. Discuss this statement in the light of the recent debate about separate curriculum provision in relation to boys and girls. The concern for equity in regard to the treatment of boys and girls in school has been (view held in the past and still held) a key issue in Australia for the past 25 years. Gill (cited in Clark 1989, p. 14) voices (opinion) the fundamental article of faith and commitment within the teaching profession, that children should be treated as individuals. However, to argue that this belief implies (general principle) that identical provision for both boys and girls was made (what happened in the past) in past decades is (opinion) to trivialise the issue and to ignore the complex and often subtle differences of worldview, attitudes, behaviour and emotions that characterise (general state) the two groups. This brief survey, encompassing different school types and the intricate web of the actions and reactions of students, teachers and other stakeholders, argues (general action) for equal opportunities for boys and girls, to enable them to achieve their full potential within and following their school experience. (Miller, JC 1999, 'Differentiated educational provision', unpublished assignment in the topic UBEU Education Context, University of South Australia, Magill.) CONSISTENCY It is not just the time when something occurred, but also other factors in the paragraph, that can influence your choice of tense. You can (and often should) change tense in a sentence or a paragraph, but you need to be careful to include words that show a difference in time. a) In 1998 Smith proposed a link between hair colour and temper. This is now disputed. In 1998 past; now present b) We can now compare what we know about Ann with Carroll s list. We have already seen that she is good at identifying sounds and attaching them to symbols. now present; already before now 5

6 EXERCISE Can you put the highlighted infinitives into the best verb tenses for the following passage, and explain why you have chosen them? Remember to make the verbs fit in terms of person and number, and note that some of the verbs are passives. There is a list of irregular verbs at the end of this leaflet. Answers are on the next page. It be 1 not until 1972 that the issue of equitable school provision be formally recognised 2 in Australia. The Karmel Report into inequality in schooling in that year (Yates 1993) be followed 3 by three important reports in the following 15 years focussing on the perceived deficit in regard to girls' education (Welch 1996, p. 178). The 'growing policy level recognition' that girls be not 'sufficiently well provided 4 for in schools' (Yates 1993, p. 23) be 5 among the report conclusions that lead 6 to the 1987 National Policy for the Education of Girls (Yates 1993). However, the reports and National Policy be 7 'long on policy' but 'short on implementation' (Welch 1996, p. 178), and the replacement of the National Advisory Committee by the Gender Equity Taskforce in 1993 signal 8 a change in policy direction towards addressing the disadvantage of boys (Daws 1997). The report which result 9, 'Gender Equity: a Framework for Australian Schools', according to Daws, bring 10 'no systematic advantage or disadvantage to either group (1997, p. 104). Economic rationalism, which make 11 its initial impact on schools with the appointment of Dawkins as Federal Education minister in 1987 (Daws 1997), continue 12 until now to restrict government spending on matters relating to gender. In financial terms, therefore, little currently be done 13 to address the very real concerns of gender inequity in schools. Gender imbalances in regard to subject choice have 14 enormous consequences for boys, for example, who tend 15 not to choose English and the arts, affecting their expression and understanding in these areas. Girls, on the other hand, typically choose 16 non-vocational subjects, which limit 17 their access to University and TAFE colleges (Teese 1997). Retraining of careers advisors, with particular reference to girls, as they be perceived 18 to be 'less well informed', be advocated 19 by Welch (1996, p. 170). Another option which receive 20 considerable interest in recent times and be implemented 21 in many coeducational schools be 22 that of single sex classes. Foon (1988), Stables (1990) and Welch (1996) all comment 23 favourably regarding them, though Welch observe 24 that they not address 25 the issue of sexism, which he believe 26 be best dealt 27 with in the context of coeducation. However, single sex classes for physical education, maths and science increase 28 in the UK and Australia, and be regarded 29 by many as highly successful in terms of improved outcomes for girls (Gill 1992). (Miller, JC 1999, 'Differentiated educational provision', unpublished assignment in the topic UBEU Education Context, University of South Australia, Magill.)